---
type: Conversation
title: Private channel session 1495
description: "slack conversation, 19 messages, 2021-06-08."
tags:
  - conversation
  - slack
medium: slack
message_count: 19
started_at: "2021-06-08T13:47:20"
ended_at: "2021-06-08T15:30:19"
duration_seconds: 6179
sources:
  - { id: slack_pm, resource: /sources/slack-pm.md, title: Slack / Private Message Drop, author: "process:senate-hsgac-release" }
generated: { by: randpaul-corpus-pipeline/1.0, at: "2026-08-01T12:42:27Z" }
status: stable
---

A slack conversation of 19 messages spanning 1h 42m.

# Metadata

- **Started:** 2021-06-08T13:47:20
- **Ended:** 2021-06-08T15:30:19
- **Duration:** 1h 42m
- **Participants:** 4
- **Source:** [slack_pm](/sources/slack-pm.md)
- **Pages:** 934-936

# Participants

* [Andrew Rambaut](/people/andrew-rambaut.md)
* [Edward C. Holmes](/people/edward-c-holmes.md)
* [Kristian G. Andersen](/people/kristian-g-andersen.md)
* [Robert F. Garry](/people/robert-f-garry.md)

# Transcript

**[2021-06-08T13:47:20] Kristian G. Andersen:** Somebody emailed me about this - I'm wondering if we/I should try to engage Gavin Schmidt. He got caught up in the "Climate gate" shit, so he might have some advice.... [shared file(s): E3PTjDjWQAI5T29.jpeg, E3PTvcDXwAEuLAx.jpeg]

**[2021-06-08T13:53:11] Robert F. Garry:** Hi Robert, I'm a reporter with the Daily Caller News Foundation. I'm reaching out to all the scientists that worked on the Nature Medicine paper "The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2" about an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal onMonday by Drs. Steven Quay and Richard Muller claiming the available science suggests a Wuhan lab leak.As one of the scientists that contributed to the paper concluding that no laboratory-based scenario for COVID-19'sorigins are plausible, I was curious if you had any thoughts on their argument. Are Quay and Mueller missing anything here? My deadline is end of business Wednesday. SLACK_001149https://(www.wsj.con/articles/the-science-suggests-a-wuhan-lab-leak-…

**[2021-06-08T13:53:11] Kristian G. Andersen:** More from Baltimore - from the damn good business reporter at LA Times... Why he can do what so many supposed 'science' journalists can't, I don't know... https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021 -06-08/nobel-laureate-baltimore-smoking-gun-for-the-covid-lab-leak-theory

**[2021-06-08T13:53:11] Robert F. Garry:** It's behind a paywall for me but good on DB. Maybe he'll sign our letter.

**[2021-06-08T13:53:11] Kristian G. Andersen:** "Incognito" window and you should be able to read it...

**[2021-06-08T13:53:11] Robert F. Garry:** That's a helluva trick - why did I not learn this before?

**[2021-06-08T13:53:11] Kristian G. Andersen:** Works with Science too...

**[2021-06-08T13:53:11] Robert F. Garry:** Love it: "Yet Baltimore has effectively disavowed his characterization of the furin cleavage site. As with so many other claims made to support the lab leak theory, this "smoking gun" turns out to be mostly smoke."

**[2021-06-08T14:23:33] Edward C. Holmes:** I can't Zoom today - I've got a lot on. I think we were lucky not to write the response to Bloom but should turn the evidence doc into a proper paper outlining what we do and don't know.

**[2021-06-08T14:37:04] Kristian G. Andersen:** Yeah, I agree - tricky though. Should we try to aim for a Zoom tomorrow or Thursday (Friday)? I think it would begood to touch base on what we have and where to go next

**[2021-06-08T14:42:30] Edward C. Holmes:** I could do tomorrow morning - something like 2 pm your time

**[2021-06-08T14:44:37] Edward C. Holmes:** Ditto for Friday

**[2021-06-08T15:01:42] Andrew Rambaut:** Let me know what time you decide - I can probably make it.

**[2021-06-08T15:20:13] Kristian G. Andersen:** 2pm my time tomorrow

**[2021-06-08T15:26:41] Edward C. Holmes:** :+1:

**[2021-06-08T15:26:59] Andrew Rambaut:** OK 10pm my time.

**[2021-06-08T15:28:13] Andrew Rambaut:** It is when Eddie says tomorrow - I never really know what day that is.

**[2021-06-08T15:29:46] Edward C. Holmes:** Sorry, my clock is set to Beijing time

**[2021-06-08T15:30:19] Andrew Rambaut:** Well you need to be ready when your handlers call